Government Alerts (AT&T) + MicroCell = dead battery

Actually that should not really make a difference. The phone should work with the changed SIM, since the SIM only carries the subscriber information, i.e. phone number, account authorization. It couldn't be any worse than you are already experiencing! I suggest turning the devices off before swapping the SIM cards and then turn them back on. Let us know.

I know this won't help Trebber, but I unplugged my Micro Cell Tower overnight, then plugged it back in. I monitored the battery life of my iPhone 4 (MC610LL/A, 6.1.3, AT&T 14.1) over the past two evenings and it's back to normal. I didn't do anything other than unplug, wait, and replug. I did not remove all my cell phones from the tower or re-activate it in any way. I was trying the simplest thing first and figured I'd try other things if necessary.

I do not notice the "searching" anymore. I had noticed this, but I did not record the frequency like Trebber.

An unscientific measure of the battery indicated I can get about 40h while connected to the MC. I charged the phone to 100%, closed all apps, re-started phone, fired up the clock app, and started the stopwatch. After 10% of the battery had depleted, almost 4 hours exactly had gone by. I did use my phone for a few tasks in that 4 hours, then closed the background tasks immediately. I did not optimize my settings at all. I kept bluetooth on, wifi on, brightness normal, volume 50%, vibrate on, etc.

I'm actually switching to an iPhone 5 tomorrow. All the other iPhones in our house are 4Ss, and they can reliably get 4G in our house. We get 1 bar of 3G in our house which equates to no cell service, hence the MC. So once I have a phone that can do 4G, I will no longer need the MC. Yay!

Assuming it's not a physical fault with the phone, then swapping a known good SIM into the phone should allow you to troubleshoot that piece at least.

As I said, I've never had a problem with my microcell (or any of the several others my phone connects to on a regular basis).

My logic is based on the fact that the assumption that the carrier update is to blame is demonstrably wrong. Others have received the same carrier update and do not experience the problem you're having, therefore, the update, by itself, did not cause the problem. There is at leaset one other variable involved that is unique to you. Whether that is the SIM, the firmware in your Microcell, the hardware in the microcell, or the hardware in your phone is what's yet to be determined. Based on the fact that it's affecing multiple phones, and based on the symptoms you describe, this is behaving like a problem with the SIMs. AT&T will replace the SIMs at no charge. There's no logical reason not to try it and see if that eliminates the problem. At worst, you lost 15 minutes of your time driving to the nearest AT&T store.

Man, all I gotta say is it better be the SIM, or I'm going to AT&T and raise He you know what!! Good luck. I would really like to see the results of this.

Do you have access at all to another microcell? One at a friend or relative's home? It would be nice to get another set of data points on a different microcell with the same devices and SIMs if possible.

Does anyone know if SIM cards expire? I know when I was with tmobile I had an issue where they said that my SIM was too old and once they replaced it my phone worked as expected. I have an iPhone 4 now with the original SIM card. The searching/cycling issue only occurs when I am in my house and trying to connect to the Mcell. I do not experience any issues outside of my house. I have used Mcell for two years now and have had minimal issues with it. Any issues that I did have usually resolved "themselves" overnight but this issue has continued since the government alert updates. If a SIM card can be outdated then maybe that is the case.

It depends on the carrier. Many times carriers update the SIM cards. If you have an account, the carrier will provide you with new SIM cards for free. Older SIMs can exhibit problems.

Mind if ask you where you are located? I just wonder what the AT&T coverage is in that area. Good luck with the SIM, however that last experiment does make one look seriously at the SIM.

trebber wrote:

Guess what, the discon/recon cycle is still there, but now A has B's cycle and vice verse. A's cycle before w/ Cell. Data OFF - ( If Cellular Data is toggled off, the the disc/recon cycles every 28, 42 or 55 seconds).

B's cycle, 17 or 23 seconds, data OFF. The cycles go with the SIM's, don't stay with the phones!

Well, I think you have your answer... The problem is either the SIMs themselves, or the provisioning on those lines. If the problem follow the SIM, then the issue is almost certainly not the phone or the carrier update that was sent to the phone.

Trying to go back and review to see if there are any subtle variations in the phones, etc..

Let me just throw a few things out there to make sure I'm on the right page and we all understand a few things. Hopefully I don't come across as cross or rude... Don't mean to be. Just thinking out loud here...

All three are iPhone 4's (4, plural, not 4S). All three were purchased together on AT&T.

Have the SIM (other than for the testing done here) ever been swapped with other AT&T SIMs? (e.g. A takes the SIM from B, B takes the SIM from A, and they stay that way, as opposed to a swap for testing.)

If so, was AT&T notified of the change? If they were NOT notified, you need to notify them. There are provisioning issues that tie the SIM to the IMEI and specifics of a particular phone. For the most part, everything will work, but there are subtle issues that can arise. This may be one of those.

If SIMs were swapped, is there any possibility that the SIMs in the phones having problems were originally provisioned for a 4S? (e.g. Bob is up for an upgrade. Bob now has a 4. Bot uses his upgrade to get 4S. Bob gives 4S to Joe, but keeps 4, inserting the SIM that was provisioned for his 4S by AT&T into his 4.)

According to Apple and AT&T, the iPhone 4 does not support Government Alerts at all. http://www.att.com/esupport/article.jsp?sid=KB410692&cv=820#fbid=HF4b_KkaxRX

AT&T has several wireless devices that are WEA capable, including new 4G LTE devices. WEA capable devices will display the following logo on the packaging and in the device instruction manual:

The following AT&T devices are WEA capable*:

• iPhone 5
• iPhone 4S
• Samsung Galaxy S4 (SGH-i337)
• Samsung Galaxy SII (SGH-i777)
• Samsung Captivate Glide (SGH-i927)
• Samsung Galaxy Appeal (SGH-i827)
• LG Optimus G Pro (E980)
• BlackBerry 9360, 9810, 9860, 9900
• Motorola Atrix 2 (mb865)
• AT&T Fusion 2 (Huawei U8665)
• Alcatel 510A
• Alcatel 871A

There are reports of the iPhone 4 receiving the carrier update to enable it, but it's unclear why at this point. Using a SIM provisioned for a 4S in a 4 might explain the receipt of the update as well as some of the problems you're having.

I do not believe that the update is the cause of the problem. I believe it is coincidental, or possibly a symptom of a provisioning problem on the lines affected.